Top 10 National Park Landmarks -- National Geographic

Top 10 National Park Landmarks -- National Geographic 

If you are looking for a wonderful vacation you should consider going to our National Parks.  Be sure that you start in Wyoming at the first National Park, Yellowstone.  It is a park full of beauty, interesting animals and unique sights.  I hope to visit again soon.  You can camp or stay in The Yellowstone Lodge, either way it is a trip you will never forget.  Three of the ten sites that were listed by the National Geographic article were in Wyoming; The Grande Tetons, Yellowstone and Devil's Tower.  I call Wyoming home and even though I love my new home in Indiana, I still miss the blue skies of God's country.  The winters are harsh and long but the skies are blue, the sunsets breathtaking and the people friendly.  So, If you need a place to visit come to Wyoming and enjoy the beauty that Wyoming natives enjoy everyday.

Getting older

I was thinking about getting old today. I’m not sure why, maybe because I was tired after a long day of trying to keep up with a 2year old and a 3year old or maybe I was dreading how quickly the weekend will pass and the work week return, but whatever the reason I was thinking about getting old and several things came to mind.

When we were in grade school they told use they were preparing us for middle school, in middle school we were getting ready for high school. High school - for college, college -for life, you get the idea.  Each period of our life we seems to be looking forward preparing for what comes next.

When we were 14 or 15 we couldn’t wait to be old enough to drive. When we were 18 we wanted to be old enough to drink. At 50 we thought about retirement but then when we are 75 we’ll wish we were young enough to still work. So it goes, as we wish our life away, always wishing we were some age that we are not.

I always said that age didn’t matter to me. I wasn’t sad to turn 30, 40 or even 50. I don’t lie about my age, except I sometimes get confused and say I'm a year older than I am.  When my clients ask how old I am (Yes, they ask how old I am because not all have a good understanding of social skills and ask all kind of personal questions) I tell them. Yes, I’ve always said after the age of 21 age doesn’t matter but that was before I realized my body was going to betray me.

I planned to be the 85 year old grandma jumping out of a plane for the first time (not literally, I’m too much of a chicken for that), floating down the Colorado River, running in the Boston Marathon or taking up mountain climbing. I was going to be healthy and energetic, with energy to spare. Then my body let me down.

When I was young, I hadn’t heard words like rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, phlebitis or lymphatic edema. I had never been told that I shouldn't run or ride for long periods or lift too much. I lived my early years as a very thin person with limitless energy and enough dreams and schemes to fill volumes. Then somewhere around 28 the health problems began. By the time I was 30 the doctor told me I had the body of a 60year old, he later clarified the remark by saying he was referring to my medical problems and not my appearance. At age 37 I was involved in a hit and run with a drunk driver and thus began the downward spiral into poor health. My health is sometimes worse than others, interfering with my ability to work and other times it is just a pain, frustration and an annoyance.

My doctor told me a couple years ago that she expected me to live to an old age but the comment wasn’t very comforting because she added, “You will probably live to be very old, like your grandmothers. You are going to feel like hell but you will live a long life.” So you see I will not be climbing any mountains, running in marathons or jumping out of airplanes (I still may float a few more rivers). But I do hope to continue working at least another 15-20years. I want to be able to play in the park with my grandchildren and enjoy a water-park from time to time.

When I look in a mirror, I no longer recognize the person that looks back at me. She is heavy and I never was, she wears glasses and my husband used to call me eagle eyes, her hair is graying and curly and mine was blonde and barely wavy.  If I look closely I can still recognize her blue eyes and her smile but most is not familiar to me. So I remind myself that there are still many positives in my life, people that I love and who love me, a husband, daughters and grandchildren that think I am special and accept me as I am now and a job that I find fulfilling and meaningful. So even though I sometimes avoid mirrors and photos, other times I just smile at that old woman and tell her she is fine just the way she is and move on with my day.

Sanchez Soiree 2012

If you look up the meaning of soiree in the dictionary it says, "a party or reception held in the evening." Our family stretches that meaning a bit to mean a party or get together that last for a weekend. Each summer Steve and I, our three daughters and their families get together for a special weekend of fun and laughter that we refer to as, THE SANCHEZ SOIREE. We try to plan an interesting venue that offers fun for all ages (ranging from 2years old to older than I want to admit). This year our Soiree took place in Missouri. We divided our time between sight seeing at the Gateway Arch of St Louis,playing at the City Museum, also in St Louis and spending time at Tana, Nic and Cohen's house in Columbia. It was a fun and exciting time, at times more exciting than we would have liked. We lost 3year old Henry for nearly 15 minutes in the City Museum. Now the City Museum is a very unique place. It is a 14 story building with tunnels, slides, climbing tubes, hide-outs and an outdoor section. Henry was with Papa crawling through one of the tunnels when he slipped into a part where adults didn't fit and wouldn't return when called. By the time we found his older brother and sent him in after him, Henry was off on a new adventure, who knew where. We had every employee in the museum on the look out for the little boy wearing the shirt that had a name tag printed on it that read, "My Name is Trouble." How appropriate was that? His older brother found him three floors down playing on a large stone fish. When my daughter told one of the workers that we had located him, the worker started to give her a lecture about keeping track of your children but she couldn't stay to listen because Henry ran off again and she had to chase him. She made a special bracelet for him with my her phone number on it in case he was lost again and as the worker tied it onto his wrist he asked Henry, "Were you really scared when you lost your mom?" Henry gave him a look somewhere between disgust and annoyance and replied in a firm voice, "NO!" Henry tried to get away two more times before we left a couple hour later but we got better at catching him. We traveled on to Tana and Nic's and watched the four grandchildren play in the yard and in the house and were amazed at how an eleven year old boy can entertain a two year old and two three-year-olds without multiple quarrels and fights. Cohen was so excited to have a "sleep-over" with his cousin Henry and was a little disappointed when Henry said he wanted to sleep with his mom on the air mattress instead of in Cohen's little tent. Cohen tried to make the best of it an crawled into the tent alone but soon retreated up to mom and Dad's room. By morning Marley and the three boys were rested and ready to start playing again. They were disappointed when we explained the Indiana Sanchezes would have to leave and return home. As the boys hugged good-bye at the door Henry told Cohen, "You can come to my house for a sleep over next time." And "Next time" will be here before you know it. Thanksgiving is only 19days away and although we won't celebrate until that Saturday, so Tana and Nic can celebrate with his family in northern Indiana, in a blink of an eye we will all be together again making memories and watching as the next generation brightens our world with their energy, antics, love and Laughter.

Sunday is a day of rest.

I've always heard that Sunday is a day of rest and today I took that literally. I put a roast in the oven for dinner, checked facebook and e-mail and spent the rest of my day RESTING. It was wonderful. Why is it that we get so busy being busy and trying to accomplish things that we forget to take time for ourselves? I watched 2 football games and one baseball game and yes, it was by choice. I watched my Indianapolis Colts WIN!! and My Man, Peyton Manning with his new team the Broncos (who used to be my team when I lived in Wyoming). Then I watched the St Louis Cardinals lose their first play-off game. :( I made three necklaces and talked on the phone to my daughter and my sister. What did I accomplish? you ask. Well, I did cook that roast. Other than that not much unless you think there is value in jewelry making. I didn't, clean, work on the yard, decorate for Halloween or get things ready for work. It isn't that I don't like working in the yard or decorating, okay you got me, I DON'T like cleaning, I just needed sometime with no expectations and no busy-ness. And I must say it was wonderful. I will still have to harvest the peppers and tomatoes and cut back the morning glories for fall but not today. I will decorate the porch with spiders and spooky Halloween creatures but that will also have to wait. Tomorrow I will be back at work (No, you don't get Columbus Day off in the Mental Health field!)and that is okay because I will be rested, refreshed and ready to spend time with my clients.

But for the rest of today I plan to continue with my self-indulgent pleasure of doing what I want to do and not what I need to do for just a few more hours.

Recycled Jewels for mental health

I am a client representative in mental health. I spend my days providing skills training to people that live with mental illness. They are challenged in varying degrees by symptoms of serious illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder or personality disorders. I am privileged to share their walk through life in a very intimate way and I know that I have learned far more from their determination, strength and courage then they will ever learn from me. That being said my work can be very challenging at times and many days I come home exhausted and too tired to take on any other major projects. Yet, I am the type of person that needs to spend time in some type of creative endeavor. Recently a client introduced me to a project that I find feeds not only my creativity but also calms my nerves at the end of a busy day. It is a simple craft that will probably never make me rich or bring me fame but it brings me joy and the quiet repetition brings me peace after a very busy day. I have started making jewelry. Placing beads in an order that pleases me and then carefully stringing them onto wire or stretchy cord and finishing them off with a clasp or a crimp bead. I played with this for awhile and soon realized that beads can be expensive, especially if you complete a necklace every night so I decided I had to get creative or my new found hobby would soon bankrupt me. The solution came in stages, first I saw a necklace I'd bought a while back and never wore any more. I decided to take it apart and use the beads for something else. Then I started to look through all my old jewelry that I no longer wore. Finally it dawned on me that many women buy jewelry and then tire of it and donate it at The Salvation Army, Good Will or St. Vincent De Paul's Stores. I started to make regular stops at these stores and buy necklaces and bracelets for $.50 or $1.00 and cut them apart and use the beads. As friends and relatives started to hear of my hobby they would donate old jewelry to me and thus my new production, Recycled Jewels for Mental Health began. I don't have any type of business plan or goals statement, for now I am just happily making jewelry that hangs on a hanger in my spare room. I will eventually have to decide what to do with the jewelry or my house will be over run. I have given three necklaces away but the rest hang in my spare room decorating the space, calming my nerves and making me smile.

I'm sick

Today I'm sick. It is beautiful outside, for early February that is, and I am inside sick. I'm coughing, have a sinus headache and feel kinda miserable.

Do you ever get the feeling that you need your Mama to come take care of you? Now don't get me wrong, I'm not bad sick. I'm just winy sick. Sometimes when I get sick I want someone to fix me hot tea or homemade soup and bring it to my bed. I want them to sit beside me while I go to sleep and stroke my hair. I want someone to sing softly to me about beautiful places or special times. I want to feel special, loved and important. Don't get me wrong. I know I am loved and my mother would come to my bedside if ever I really needed her care (even though she lives hours away) but when I'm just a little sick, I feel sorry for myself and I wish I could be that little girls again who was cuddled and cared for. But the feeling will pass when the coughing stops and then I will get up and get going again.

I guess maybe that is why when my daughters were little I would sit by their bedside, sing to them and stroke their hair. So that maybe when they were all grown up(like now)and they were feeling winy sick they could remember all that love they had stored up and be comforted in the knowledge that their mother will never stop loving them

even if they are hours away.

This is a test!

I am just playing around a little with my background and layout and wondered what you thought of the new look. Is it easier to read or harder. Does it improve the look or not make a difference. Just wondering what 6you thought. I like the way the photos pop. Let me know what you think.